Hopper discharge



Oct. 9, 1945. J. J. MCBRIDE HOPPER DISCHARGE Filed June 27, l942 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY M 1/. W

' ATTORNEY LDN INVENTOR- Join (1/7 Bride 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTO RN EY J. J. MCBRIDE HOPPER DISCHARGE Filed June 27, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 01222 J/VBrz'de ATTORNEY Oct. 9, 1945. J..J. M BRIDE HOPPER D'ISCHARGE Filed June 27, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 AQHQ lllll l lln'il'llllllllll'lll IIIII lllIIl-I dblm z lw ride ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 9, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT. oFFlcE,

HOPPER DISCHARGE John I; McBride, Bayonne, N. J., assignor to American Car and Foundry Company; New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew Jersey ApplicationJ'ame 27, 1942, Serial Noeois sli proposed that the door be free of its sealing joint with the frame during movement of the door to open or close the discharge outlet, but in all arrang'eme'n-ts so far'built orproposed the door was Shifted toward'its sealing joint through operation of an independent medium such as a lever or slide which had to be operated subsequent to the closing and prior to the opening of the door. Often the: operator was careless and failed to operate the independent means moving the'door into sealing relation, with the result that considerable fine lading was lost during transit of the car. It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a simple foolproof hopper discharge arrangement in which the door is automatically shifted into sealing relation with the frame during the final closing movement of the door.

A further object ofthe invention is the proshowing the door in closed; locked: and sealed position;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view disclosing a slight ly modified form ofthe door operating means, and

' Fig; 6' is a sectional view taken substantially on line 6-601 Fig. 5.

Referring now to-the drawings indetail it will be seen that the: hopper is formed of sloping floor sheets 3' to which are attached inclined flanges to of a hopper door: frame part A. This door frame-part is preferably' iormedas a casting having thefloor attachmgZfiangejust referred to: and a vertically extending portion l2 defining the hopper discharge outlet and having its: lower surface" it planed so ast'o provide a sealing portion against which the door-may contact. Inuorder to house'and protect the door; as: well as support it, the flanges l2 of the hopper defining outlet are form'ed with outstanding ledges or shelves l6 merging at their ends-'into'downwardly directed walls it which in turn terminate in outwardly directed flanges 20 to'which a discharge boot may beattached if it is so desired.- At the side of the vision of a hopper discharge arrangement in,

which the door can not be locked in closed posi-' tion until it is in sealing relation with. the door frame,

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a hopper discharge arrangement using a sliding door'operable by a pinioncarried by the door and engaging an inverted rack thereby preventing any clogging due to collection of lading on the rack.

A yet further object of the invention is the provision of a special sealing means or' scraper which follows the door and prevents material from following the door during its opening move merits.

These and other objects of the invention will hopper discharge outlet toward which the door moves when being: opened, the sealing portion is madedouble thus providing'a groove 22 (Figs. 1, 2 aud t) and this groove is adapted to receive a scraper bar 24' freely movable to-follow the vertic'al movements of the sliding door. At the sides of the discharge outlet the door'frame part is provided with integrally formed ledges 26 along which the doormay move between open and closed positions. l is-clearly shown in Fig. 1-, the

be apparent to persons skilled in the artfrom a study of the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of' the improved hopper discharge arrangement and showing. the door in open or hopper discharge position;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. I

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken through the operating means'for the door;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1 but 4 shelf l6 isonset' upwardly a slight amount as at 28 and the vertical flange l8" at this sideof the frame. is sl'otted as at Z fl in' order to permit sliding. of the doortherethr'oughl The door is supported in its sliding movements at-this side of the frame not only by tlie'fiang'e' l3 but also by a cross tie'32 extendingbetween the shelf members 86' and directly beneath the scraper member 24.

The door part-'B,'which is movable between open and closed positions to open or close the discharge outlet, is supported for such movement upon the ledges or shoulders 26' and the reinforcing or tie member 32 as wellas by the flange l8 where interrupted by the slot 36. The door is preferably formed with a plane upper surface fllreinforced onits under side by a peripheral rib 42 as well as" by spaced apart parallel ribs M defininga groove or slot 45 best shown in Figs. 2 and 6. As clearly shown in Fig. 1 the top-surface MI of th door partisspaced-below the sealing portions l-fl ofthe door frame part of the car structure.

and, therefore, the door can be readily moved between its partially closed and fully open positions. In order that the door may be positively sealed against the sealing portions l4 a plurality of brackets 48 (Figs. 1 and 2) are formed on the frame and adapted to receive pins 50 extending through cam members 52. Each of these cam members is provided with a rounded or cam like surface 54 and a projection or lug 56. The pivoting of the cams is at a point considerably above their center in order that the lower end will forrn a weight tending to hold the cams in the upright positions of Fig. 1. For purposes of simplicity in description of operation the cams at the forward edge of the frame are designated by the letter C, while those at the rear of the frame are designated by letters D. It will be seen that the projecting lugs 56 of the cams C project into the path of movement of the leading edgeof the door, while the lugs of cams D project into the grooves or slots 46 formed by the spaced reinforcing ribs of the door. The projections of lugs D will accordingly be interposed in the path of the rear ends of the slots 46 to be moved thereby during closing of the door.

In order to operate the door the rear edge is provided with spaced projections 60 constituting eyes for the reception of bearings 62 carried by an operating shaft 64. The operating shaft has attached thereto adjacent the outer end an operatin member 66 formed with a plurality of openings 68 for the reception of any suitable bar or rod by means of which the shaft may be rotated. Intermediate the ends of the shaft pinion gears 10 are firmly attached by means of bolts or other devices 12. These pinion gears are adapted to mesh with inverted rack members 14 welded or otherwise secured to an inverted panshaped housing member 16 secured to the hopper outlet door frame and to a brace 18 of the car structure. The downturned sides of the housing 16 are slotted as at 80 to permit longitudinal movement of the shaft 64 as it is forced to travel along the rack by rotation of the shaft. The slotted sides of the pan like housing are reinforced by straps or ties- 82, as clearly shown in the figures. The door is locked in itsfully closed position by means of a'pin or other device 184 fastened to the car floor by a chain 86 in order that it may not become lost. The pin or other means extends, as clearly shown in the figures, through the pan like housing and through spaced eyes 88 formed on the door frame part as well as through an eye 50 formed on the door part. The entire arrangement may be sealed by passing a seal through holes 9| formed in a cylindrical member 92 welded to the pan like housing and surrounding the head of the locking pin or other means 84.

In some cases it may be desired to eliminate the pan like housing 16 and this may be done, as clearly shown in Figs. and 6, by fastening the rack bars to spaced angle members 94 attached to the hopper frame and to the brace 95 The pinion shaft of the door will then be supported upon the horizontal leg 96 of an angle member 91 welded or otherwise secured to the hopper door frame and to the brace 95. Insofar as the door, hopper, and door frame, as well as the operating means for the door, are concerned the modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is substantially identical with that previously described in detail and accordingly the same reference numerals have been applied thereto wherever possible.

. or other foreign material that may have been collected on the door from being carried into the hopper discharge outlet. As the door approaches its final closed position the leading edge of the door will strike projections 56 of cam members C and the projections 56 of cam members D will simultaneously be contacted by the ends of slots 46 formed in the door. Contact of these door parts with the projections 56 will cause rotation of the cams C and D and force the curved portions 54 to raise the door upwardly into sealing contact with the sealing portions or edges H of the door frame or outlet defining member. During upward movement of the door the scraper bar 24 will, of course, rise in its slot 22 to the position shown in Fig. 4. When the door has been fully closed, as shown inFig; 4, then the locking'pin 84 may be dropped into position holding the door closed and if desired the door may then be sealedin this position by an approved sealing device (not shown). In opening the door the locking pin must first be removed, after which counter-clockwise rotation of the pinion shaft, as viewed in Fig. 4,'will cause an opening movement of the door with the result that cams C and D will rotate in a clockwise direction and lowerthe door onto the shelves. 26 along which it will move to fully opened position. Thusit will be seen that the dooris automatically raised into sealing position during final closing movement and that the door .can not be locked until it is fully sealed with respect to the hopper outlet member or door frame. In this manner loss of lading through carelessness of operators is avoided. During opening of the door the scraper bar 24 will positively prevent material following thedoor and being lost, also,the use of the inverted rack barwill prevent collection of snow, ice, cinders or other foreign-material that might hinder operation of the door mechanism.

While the invention has been described more or less in detail, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of parts maybe made and all such modifications and rearrangements of parts are'contemplated as will fall within the scope of the appended claims. defining my invention.

What is claimed is: 1. In a railwayhopper car having a floor providedwith a. door frame part defining a lading discharge opening, a door part slidably mounted on the frame and movable from an open to a closed position closing said opening, and spaced apart means rotatably carried byone of said parts and directly engageable with the other of said parts to be rotated thereby into a position automatically raising said door part upwardly into sealing relation with'said frame part during the final closing movement of the door part.

2. In a railway hopper car having a floor provided with a door frame part defining a lading discharge opening, a door-part slidably mounted on the frame and movable from an openito a closed position closing said opening, and means rotatably carried-byone of said parts'and'engageable with the other of said parts to be rotated thereby into a position automatically raising said door part upwardly into sealing relation with said frame part during the final closing movement of the door part, said means comprising a plurality of cams pivotally carried by said frame part and formed with projecting lugs disposed in the path of movement of portions of said door part.

3. In a railway hopper car having a floor provided with a door frame part defining a lading discharge opening, a door part slidably mounted on the frame and movable from an open to a closed position closing said opening, and means rotatably carried by one of said parts and engageable with the other of said parts to be rotated into a position automatically raising said door part upwardly into sealing relation with said frame part during the final closing movement of the door part, said means including a cam pivotally carried by said frame part and formed with a projecting lug engageable with the leading edge of the closing door.

4. In a railway hopper car having a floor provided with a door frame part defining a lading discharge opening, a door part slidably mounted on the frame and movable from an open to a closed position closing said opening, said door part being formed with a pair of spaced stiffening ribs defining a groove therebetween, a plurality of cams pivotally carried by said frame part and each formed with a projecting lug, the lug of one cam engaging the leading edge of the closing door part and the lug of another cam engaging an end of said groove during closing of the door part, said cams automatically raising said door part upwardly into sealing relation with said frame part during the final closing movements of said door part.

5. In a railway hopper car having a floor provided with a door frame part defining a lading discharge outlet and formed with a sealing portion, a door part slidably mounted on the frame and in engagement with said sealing portion when in fully closed position closing the discharge outlet, and means rotatably carried by one of said parts and tightly engaging the other part to hold the door part in engagement with said sealing portion when the door is in fully closed position, said means automatically lowering said door part away from said sealing portion upon commencement of movement of said door part toward a position opening said discharge outlet, and a scraper bar housed in said sealing portion and lowering with said door part whereby said scraper bar is at all times in contact with said door part.

6. In a railway hopper car having a floor provided with a door frame, a sealing portion formed on said frame and defining a discharge outlet, a door slidably mounted on said frame and in engagement with substantially the entire sealing portion when in outlet closing position, a groove formed in one part of said sealing portion, and a scraper bar located in said groove and being in constant engagement with said door irrespective of the relative position of the door in the frame.

7. In a railway hopper car having a floor provided with a door frame defining a discharge outlet, a door slidably mounted on said frame and movable from a closed to an open position for discharge of lading from the outlet, and scraper means housed by said frame and resting on said door to prevent lading following the door as it is moved from closed to open position.

8. In a railway hopper oar having a floor provided with a door frame defining a discharge outlet, a door slidably mounted on said frame and movable from a closed to an open position for discharge of lading from the outlet, and scraper means housed by said frame and resting on said door to prevent lading following the door as it is moved from closed to open position, said scraper means comprising a bar urged by gravity toward the door and retained in a groove formed in said door frame.

9. In a. railway hopper car having a floor provided with a door frame defining a discharge outlet, a door slidably mounted on said frame and movable from a closed to an open position for discharge of lading from the outlet, an inverted rack bar carried by said frame and extending toward one side thereof, a shaft journaled in the free end of said door and carrying a pinion engageable with said rack bar, and means to rotate said shaft and pinion thereby causing the latter to roll along the rack bar to open said door.

10. In a railway hopper car having a floor provided with a door frame part defining a lading discharge opening, a door part slidably mounted on the frame and movable from an open to a closed position closing said opening, and means rotatably carried by one of said parts and being formed with a projecting portion and a cam portion, said projecting portion being engageable with the other of said parts during final closing movement of said door part whereby to rotate said means and swing said cam portion into a position raising said door part upwardly into sealing relation with said frame part.

JOHN J. MCBRIDE. 

